Community Guidelines: Babies, Children and Young People (BCYP) Nurse Mentoring Network

1. Respect and Professionalism Uphold a culture of kindness, respect, and professionalism. Value the unique experiences of CYP nurses across diverse settings.
2. Confidentiality is Key Maintain strict confidentiality, especially when discussing sensitive issues related to children, young people, and families. Respect the privacy of both mentees and patients.
3. Set Clear Expectations Early on, agree on goals that reflect your CYP nursing context whether clinical skills, leadership development, or navigating multi-agency working. Clarify communication preferences and meeting frequency.
4. Define the Commitment Establish a shared understanding of the mentoring timeframe e.g., 4–6 sessions over 3 months. This helps manage expectations and workload, especially in busy CYP services.
5. Be Reliable and Committed Consistency is key. Honour scheduled sessions and respond promptly. Reliability builds trust, especially when supporting nurses working in emotionally demanding CYP environments.
6. Practice Active Listening Listen with empathy and without judgment. CYP nursing often involves complex emotional dynamics; validate each other’s experiences and perspectives.
7. Encourage Open Dialogue Create a psychologically safe space for honest reflection. Discuss challenges like safeguarding, emotional resilience, and interprofessional collaboration openly and supportively.
8. Support Growth and Learning Share insights from your CYP nursing journey, whether it's managing transitions, advocating for young people, or developing trauma-informed care. Offer constructive feedback and celebrate progress.
9. Respect Boundaries Be mindful of emotional and professional boundaries. CYP nursing can be intense, check in regularly about comfort levels and avoid assumptions about availability or capacity.
10. Reflect and Review Regularly Schedule regular check-ins to assess progress. Use prompts like “What’s helping you in your CYP nursing role?” or “Do we need to adjust our focus?” to guide reflection. Be flexible and responsive to evolving needs.